Dozens killed as 7.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador

Fearful residents stream into streets of the capital Quito while major city of Guayaquil is among places worst hit

Jessica Elgot and agencies in Quito

Ecuador’s Pacific coast has been struck by the country’s strongest earthquake in decades, a 7.8-magnitude tremor killing at least 77 people, flattening buildings and damaging roads near the epicentre, as well as in the country’s largest city of Guayaquil.

Live Ecuador earthquake: death toll triples to 233 following 7.8-magnitude quake - latest developments

President Correa calls national emergency after more than 230 killed and over 500 injured in 7.8-magnitude quake

President Rafael Correa declared a national emergency and urged the country’s 16 million people to stay calm. More than 570 people are believed to have been injured in the quake.

“Our infinite love to the families of the dead,” he said on Twitter, as he cut short a trip to Italy to return home.

The government had recommended residents leave coastal areas after concerns about rising tides following the quake, but fears of hazardous waves have eased and locals were told they could return home. Earlier, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves of less than 0.3 metres above the tide level were possible along the coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru.

But by 0256 GMT the centre said the “tsunami threat from this earthquake has now mostly passed”.

About 10,000 troops have been deployed to the coastal areas, with 3,500 extra national police officers sent to the towns of Manabí, Esmeraldas and Guayas y Santa Elena, and 500 firefighters sent to Manabi and Pedernales. Five shelters have been set up for those evacuated from their homes.

Alarmed residents streamed into the streets of the capital, Quito, hundreds of kilometres away, and other towns across Ecuador.

The government said the death toll was likely to rise and damage was “serious”, especially in the western coastal areas nearest the quake and in Guayaquil.

The vice-president, Jorge Glas, said it was the strongest quake to hit Ecuador since 1979. “We continue to receive information,” he said, adding that 16 people had died in the city of Poroviejo, 10 in Manta and others in the province of Guayas.

The country’s Geophysics Institute in a bulletin described “considerable damage” in the area of the epicentre and in Guayaquil, without providing further details.

It said the earthquake struck at about 8pm local time at a depth of 12.4 miles (20km). At least 36 aftershocks have followed, one as strong as six on the Richter scale, and residents have been warned to brace themselves for even stronger aftershocks in the coming hours.

A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake also hit the Pacific island of Tonga, south-east of the capital, Nuku’alofa, in the early evening. The United States Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was 172.12 miles (277km) away at a depth of 41 miles.

Pictures shared on social media showed a crumbling bridge in Guayaquil and a collapsed tower at an airport in the city of Manta that injured an air traffic control worker and a security guard.

“I was in my house watching a movie and everything started to shake. I ran out into the street and now I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Lorena Cazares, 36, a telecommunications worker in Quito.

Japan disaster: rescuers search for survivors after second deadly quake

Parts of the capital were left without power or telephone service, with many communicating only via WhatsApp. Photos showed cracks in the walls of shopping centres. The capital’s municipal government later said power had been restored and there were no reports of casualties.

“There are villages that are totally devastated,” said Gabriel AlcÃvar, mayor of the city of Pedernales in the hard-hit province of Manabi, in a radio interview. “What happened here in Pedernales is catastrophic.”

AlcÃvar called for more help from authorities to send earth-moving machines and emergency rescue workers. “This wasn’t just a house that collapsed, it was an entire town,” he said.

State officials said the Opec nation’s oil production was not affected by the quake but that the principal refinery of Esmeraldas, located near the epicentre, had been halted as a precaution.

Neighbouring Peru issued a tsunami alert for the north of the country following the quake.

Across the Pacific in Japan, a 7.3-magnitude tremor struck Kumamoto provinceearly on Saturday, killing at least 32 people, injuring about 1,000, and causing widespread damage, in the second major quake to hit the island of Kyushu in just over 24 hours. The first, late on Thursday, killed nine.

Four Armed Robbery Suspects Killed In Shootout With Police In Songwe

“This is Vwawa Bus Stand, where the incident occurred in which armed robbers shot and killed a security guard before fleeing with various items.” Songwe. Four suspected armed robbers have been shot dead following a confrontation with police in Songwe Region after allegedly being involved in a violent raid on a mobile phone and financial services shop in Vwawa town, Mbozi District, in which a security guard was killed. According to a statement issued today, December 30, 2025, by the Songwe Regional Police Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Augustino Senga, the incident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. The suspects reportedly stormed the shop, owned by businessman Gabriel Msemwa, at the Vwawa main bus stand, killed the guard, William Mwampashi (45), and fled with assorted items. The deceased suspects have been identified as Bruce Mwasenga, Eliuta Mapunda, Abdul Chiba, and Justine, known by a single name. SACP Senga said police immediately launched intensive, inte...

JAB Yawasogeza Huduma Waandishi Iringa, Yaomba Ushirikiano Kudhibiti Waandishi Wasioidhinishwa

Iringa. Bodi ya Ithibati ya Waandishi wa Habari (JAB) imeendelea na jitihada za kusogeza huduma zake kwa waandishi wa habari nchini, safari hii ikifika katika Klabu ya Waandishi wa Habari Iringa (Iringa Press Club – IPC), ikiwa ni sehemu ya mkakati wa kuboresha tasnia ya habari na kulinda taaluma ya uandishi wa habari. Akizungumza wakati wa kikao na waandishi wa habari mkoani Iringa, Kaimu Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa Bodi ya Ithibati ya Waandishi wa Habari (JAB), Wakili Patrick Kipangula, amesema lengo la ziara hiyo ni kutoa elimu kuhusu majukumu ya bodi, mchakato wa ithibati pamoja na kusikiliza changamoto zinazowakabili waandishi wa habari ngazi ya mikoa. Wakili Kipangula amesema bado kuna changamoto ya uwepo wa watu wanaojihusisha na shughuli za uandishi wa habari bila kuwa na ithibati halali, hali inayochafua tasnia na kuhatarisha maadili ya kazi hiyo nyeti. “Tunawaomba waandishi wa habari kushirikiana na Bodi kwa kuwafichua watu wanaojitambulisha kama waandishi bila kuwa na ithiba...

MUCE IMPLEMENTS SH18.6 BILLION PROJECT IN HONOUR OF FATHER OF THE NATION’S VISION

Iringa. As Tanzania marks 26 years since the passing of the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere — a passionate advocate for education — Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE), a constituent college of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), continues to successfully implement the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) Project worth over Sh18.6 billion. Speaking to journalists in Iringa, MUCE Principal Prof Method Samwel Semiono said the project, implemented by the government through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, aims to reform the higher education system so it can directly contribute to the country’s economic transformation. “The five-year project (2021/2022–2025/2026) is funded by the World Bank and focuses on curriculum improvement, infrastructure development, human resource capacity building, inclusive education and gender equality, as well as promoting the use of ICT and digital learning,” explained Prof Semiono. He no...

PAMLOMO-SAUTI YA JAMII

Search This Blog